Dial lighting assembly for clocks



July 1, 1969 H. G. FREY I DIAL LIGHTING ASSEMBLY FOR CLOCKS I Filed Aug. 1o, 1967 July 1, 1969 H. G. FRL-:v 3,452,538

DIAL LIGHTING ASSEMBLY FOR CLOCKS L Filed Aug. 1o. 1967 sheet Z of 2 ,if/55H01 ff,

United States Patent O ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A clock dial illuminating assembly in which light from a single small bulb is transmitted through the periphery of the dial lens and directed inwardly about the entire dial.

n The lens is recessed in a reflecting bezel to increase the i1- lumination and give a decorative effect.

Description of the invention This invention relates generally to clocks and more particularly concerns a clock dial illuminating assembly.

The object of the invention is to provide an economical assembly for evenly and attractively illuminating the dial face of a small clock.

Another object is to provide an assembly of this character that is well suited for large-scale manufacture.

A further object is to provide an assembly of the above kind which is particularly ellicient so that small, low power bulbs and power sources can be utilized.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following description taken with the drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is a perspective of a clock embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken transversely through the bottom portion of the clock shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a slightly enlarged bottom elevation taken approximately along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2 with the bottom plate of the clock removed;

FIG. 4 is an enalrged fragmentary front elevation of the lens and bezel assembly -of the clock shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a section taken approximately along the line `S-S in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken approximately along the line 6 6 in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken approximately along the line 7-7 in FIG. 5.

While the invention will be described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that I do not intend to limit the invention to that embodiment. On the contrary, I intend to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning first to FIG. l, there is shown a clock 10 embodying the invention and including a casing 11, a dial 12 bearing time indicating indicia, a lens 13 over the dial, and a bezel 14 secu-red to the casing 11 and holding the lens 13 in position. The casing 11 includes a supporting base 15 having a floating bottom plate 16 that is hinged at the rear by interlocking fingers 15a and 16a (see FIG. 2) and which rides up and down relative to the casing 11 on a stud screw 17. The casing 11 contains a conventional movement, in this case a spring wound alarm movement not specifically illustrated, which is coupled to a stack of hands including an hour hand 18, a minute hand 19 and an alarm setting hand 20.

In accordance with the invention, the lens 13 is formed with a substantially tubular portion 21, surrounding and ICC extending forwardly from the front of the dial 12, and including an inwardly extending bulge 22 (see FIGS. 4 and 7) defining a thickened section that has a bulb receiving recess 23 extending into the periphery of the tubular portion 21. A small lightbulb, in this case a grain-of-wheat bulb 24, is mounted in the casing 11 so as to extend up into the recess 23, and a dry cell battery 25 with connecting circuitry is positioned within the clock base 15.

Preferably, the lens 13 is molded of clear plastic material and the inner surface of the tubular portion 21 is serrated to define light-emitting surfaces 26. The top and front surfaces 27 and 28, respectively, of the recess 23 are also serrated, but the opposing recess sides 29 which sandwich the bulb 24 are flat and smooth. Thus, when the bulb 24 is energized and illuminated, light enters the tubular portion 21 of the lens 13 through the recess sides 29 and the light is directed by internal reflection around the periphery of the lens. The serrated surfaces 26 on the inner surface of the tubular portion cause light to escape inwardly over the dial, and it has been found that quite uniform lighting entirely around the dial is achieved by the construction described. The serrated surfaces 27, 28 in the recess 23 tend to prevent direct escape of light outwardly from the bulb 24 through the lens 13. The outer surface of the portion 21 is preferably smooth to give maximum internal reflection so that most of the light goes inwardly onto the dial 12.

As a feature of the invention, the lighting effect is enhanced by forming the bezel 14 so that it extends forwardly of the lens 13 to recess the tubular portion 21 (see FIGS. 2 and 5), and by forming the bezel with a reflecting surface 31 inclined toward the lens. The surface 31 also ends with an edge that engages the lens portion 21 to hold the lens in position. Light escaping radially from the lens is thus caught and reflected by the bezel surface 31. A pleasant decorative effect is achieved by forming the bezel 14 of goldinished metal since, in that case, energizing the bulb 24 in a darkened room gives a jewel-lke glow and ample illumination to read the clock.

In the illustrated embodiment, the bulb 24 has lead wires 32 and 33 extending into the base 15 and soldered, respectively, to a sheet metal battery holder piece 34, and a sheet metal piece 35 defining one contact of a switch. A third Sheet metal piece 36 serves to hold the opposite end of the battery 25 and is formed with a pair of ngers 37 extending downwardly to resiliently press the bottom plate 16 against the head of the stud screw 18. With the bottom plate 16 held against the screw head, one of the ngers 37 is closely spaced from the switch contact piece 35. By manually pressing down on the clock, moving the casing 11 as suggested by the dashed lines in FIG. 2, the bottom plate 16 is urged up into the base 15 so that one nger 37 contacts the piece 35 to complete a circuit between the battery 25 and the bulb 24. Thus, light manual pressure on the top of the clock illuminates the clock dial, and releasing the clock turns off the dial light and conserves `battery energy.

In the clock shown, the bottom plate 16 also carries a pin 38 that extends up into the casing 11 to cooperate with an alarm silencing lever 39.

It can thus be seen that an economical assembly has been provided for evenly and attractively illuminating the clock dial 12, and that this assembly is particularly well suited for a small, compact spring wound clock. The latte-r result is facilitated by the use of the very small grain-of-wheat type bulb which, it will also be appreciated, requires only a small dry-cell battery. The shape of the lens efficiently utilizes the light from the small bulb.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the clock 10 with its dial illuminating assembly is particularly well suited for economical mass production, particularly because the lens itself serves as the light conducting and distributing member.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a clock, the combination comprising, a casing, a dial in said casing bearing time indicating indicia, a lens disposed over the front of said dial and having a substantially tubular portion surrounding and extending forwardly from the front of the dial, and a bezel surrounding said lens and holding the lens in position, said lens having an inwardly extending bulge in said tubular portion defining a thickened section of said portion, said thickened section having a bulb receiving recess extending into the periphery of said tubular portion.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the inner surface of said tubular portion including said thickened section is serrated to define light-emitting surfaces and the outer surface of said portion is smooth.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which said bezelv extends forwardly of said lens so that said tubular portion 4 is recessed within said bezel, said bezel having a reiiecting surface inclined toward said tubular portion.

4. The combination of claim 1 including a grain-ofwheat bulb mounted in said casing so as to extend into said recess, and a battery in said casing for supplying power to said bulb.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,224,184 12/1965 Brien 58-50 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,059,452 3/1954 France.

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

E. C. SIMMONS, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 58--54 

